Starting From Scratch
by FlyPandaBear
Summary: Three years ago, Alice Brown was just 16 years old when she defeated Iris and became the new Unova champion. She eventually ended her career... until now. Now 19, Alice decides to wipe the slate clean and restart her journey as a beginner, but can she really become the champion again when her past comes back to haunt her?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I know what you guys are thinking. "What the hell, Tobu? You say you're discontinuing one story and start another?" Well... I changed my mind about discontinuing F.I.N. It's just going to be on a really long hiatus. I actually have some of the next chapter written out but finishing it is my problem... so to pass the time I made this. I also have this posted on Deviantart so I sort of have to continue it... and plus, I'm excited for this story. Yes, this will be a S.Y.O.C story, but I'll only accept a limited number. The form will be on my profile. So, please, sit back and enjoy!**

* * *

The picture of a teenage girl next to her Emboar sat in the picture frame. A young woman gently ran her thumb over the girl's face, a sigh escaping her lips.  
"You've changed so much..."  
Despite her bedroom being dark, the woman looked at a piece of the newspaper that was pinned up on the wall beside her by a thumbtack.  
"16 year old Alice Brown becomes Unova champion," It read. "After starting her journey one year ago, she has recently beaten Iris in a very close battle, winning by landing a Brick Break on her Lapras."  
The woman looked at another piece. "Unova champion Alice Brown gives up her title."  
A third piece. "Former champion Alice Brown decides to end her pokemon career."  
The woman chuckled and slightly smiled. "Look out, Unova. I'm coming back."

* * *

"_Nuvema Town, Unova. 11:23. September 2. My brand new Oshawott and I are on our way to Accumula Town. She's a female Oshawott, her name is Natasha. She's a serious pokemon, a bit cold and distant.  
_The woman sighed and closed her notebook, looking down at her Oshawott, who simply looked back at her. She wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes; she looked like an average person, standing at a solid 5'9, she wasn't very busty or curvaceous. Her hair was jet black, straight and reached her waist, her bangs framing her face. Her eyebrows were thick and brown, and her eyes were of a forest green, hidden behind her purple framed glasses. Her skin tone was that of a healthy creme colour. She wore simple clothing, a black t-shirt underneath a red sweater, dark blue pants and dark brown knee high boots. She carried a blue backpack that had a Togepi shaped charm on it.  
"Hey, I can see Accumula Town up ahead! Isn't that exciting?"  
Natasha, the Oshawott, simply huffed and looked away.  
"O-Okay then..." The woman gave a crooked smile. "Once we get to the pokemon center, we'll stock up on some items and then rest for the night. Then we can make our way to Striaton City! There, we'll battle the first gym leader... s."  
She groaned and deeply sighed. "Who am I talking to...?" She looked at Natasha, who simply glared at her.  
"_I wonder if she was always like this?_" The woman thought. "_Maybe something happened that caused her to change. Hm..._" She closed her eyes and sighed. "_I was 16 years old when I just barely defeated Iris. A whole bunch of propaganda came up, and I became famous. I couldn't handle all the stress, so I ended my pokemon career. Because of that, I was stripped of my title as Unova champion and a pokemon trainer in general. I've decided to restart my career because I heard that this new organization, Team Plasma, was causing trouble... I can't let them do anything to anyone. Even though I'm not a champion anymore, I feel like I still need to hold the responsibility of keeping Unova safe..._"  
She opened her eyes and pursed her lips. "_Alice Brown... the forgotten name of an unworthy champion... me..._"

* * *

"Hm... what do I need? Pokemon food, regular food for me, a flashlight just in case..."  
Alice sighed and closed her eyes in thought. "I wonder how much it'll cost? I only have so much money and it's not like I have a job or anything..."  
She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and picked up a can of pokemon food, examining it. "I'll get this..." She said, taking two more cans of the same brand. Moving down another aisle, she picked up a box carrying a flashlight and some batteries, balancing the cans of food between one arm and the flashlight and batteries between the other. She sighed and went up to the cashier, piling everything on the counter and smiling.  
"I'll be right back! I need to get more stuff!" She said, running back to an aisle. She picked up a couple bag of chips and box juices, then went back to the cashier and taking out her wallet. She looked over the pile, making sure she had everything she needed, and nodded with a smile.  
"Okay~! I'm done now."  
The cashier nodded and began scanning the items, Alice's hands tensing as the price rose. Once everything was scanned, she paid for everything and smiled, taking the bags they were put in.  
"Thank you~!" She happily said, walking out of the mart and down the street. Accumula was a small, quiet town, with a couple of tall buildings in the distance. She turned a corner, to the plaza, and blinked, noticing a crowd of people. On a small, raised hill, were several people aligned neatly, wearing mid evil-like suits, all of them having ginger hair poking out of their shawls. Two large flags with an insignia that appeared to be a shield divided into black and white, with a large 'p' in the middle, and a z shape going through it, stood on the hills with the people. Alice narrowed her eyes and squeezed into the crowd, slightly widening her eyes when a large man with wild green hair and an elaborate robe stepped in front of the mysterious people.  
"Ladies and gentlemen," He said, his voice deep and calm. "My name is Ghetsis. If you're wondering who we are, we are Team Plasma. We have gathered you here today to talk about pokemon liberation."  
"Liberation?" One man in the crowd asked.  
"Yes. Our goal is to liberate pokemon from humans. Now, some of you may think that such an idea is ludicrous, as humans and pokemon have been together for millenniums. Take a look at your pokeballs."  
Alice noticed some people took their pokeballs off from their belts or out of their pockets, where they kept them, and looked at them.  
"Tell me," Ghetsis continued. "Are they truly happy, being confined in such a manner? Do you honestly believe your pokemon are satisfied with being cooped up in their pokeballs, only to be let out during battles?"  
A couple of people in the crowd muttered things, and a small smirk came to Ghetsis' face. "This is why we must liberate pokemon! For the betterment of them! For so long, we have only used them for our own personal needs. Are they really your friends, or mere tools? By liberating pokemon, we will create a better world for them, and perhaps, ourselves," He gave a small bow. "I thank you all for your time."  
The uniformed people gathered the flags and arranged themselves in an orderly fashion, four on one side of Ghetsis, four on the other, and two in the back. They walked down the hill, and soon, the crowd started talking. Alice scoffed as it soon dissipated, noticing a man with green hair tied into a ponytail, his eyes covered with a cap.  
"What do you think about liberation?" He asked. Alice blinked and looked around, searching for someone else the man could've been talking to, but found no one.  
"M-Me?" She asked. "I think it's a ridiculous idea! To me, pokemon and humans... we have a special bond that can't be severed!"  
The man walked up to her, his eyes still obscured by the bill of his cap. "I see... you. You are Alice Brown. Correct?"  
Alice slowly nodded. "Y-Yeah? So what?"  
He looked at her, and she noticed his eyes were of a grey-blue colour. "You were the champion."  
"I was."  
"Then, does that mean you battled many pokemon to get to your title?"  
"I did."  
"You hurt many pokemon, didn't you?"  
Alice's throat suddenly became dry. She looked away, giving a short nod. "I-I suppose..."  
"Since you were the pokemon champion, I'd love to battle you. Give me an idea of your skill. Let me hear your pokemon!"  
The black haired woman widened her eyes when the man whistled, a small, purple feline-like pokemon running up to him. She took out her pokedex, examining the pokemon as the man picked it up in his arms.  
"I don't really have to do this but..." Alice sighed. "Professor Juniper's orders..."  
"_Purrloin, the Devious Pokemon,_" The pokedex informed. "They steal from people for fun, but their victims can't help but forgive them. Their deceptively cute act is perfect."  
She put her pokedex into her pocket and took off Natasha's pokeball from her belt, throwing it into the air, the Oshawott materializing in front of her.  
"Natasha," Alice said as she caught the pokeball in her right hand. "Let's show this guy what we can do!"  
The man chuckled and set Purrloin down, walking a bit away from her before turning back around.  
"Purrloin, Scratch," He said. Purrloin growled as it stood on its hind legs, its claws appearing. Giving a sly smirk, it ran towards Natasha, yowling as it jumped up, aiming its claws towards her.  
"Water Gun!" Alice commanded. Natasha nodded and opened her mouth, a stream of water shooting out, hitting Purrloin in the abdomen. It cried out in pain as it was pushed back, falling to the ground, its fur completely soaked. Purrloin got on all fours and shook itself off, baring its teeth.  
"Scratch again," The man quietly said. Purrloin ran towards Natasha on all fours, its claws extended. It sneered as it reached the Oshawott, about to slash her when she took her shell and held it in front of her, the purple pokemon's claws instead scratching the shell. Natasha growled and looked at Alice, who nodded.  
"Water Gun!"  
Purrloin widened its eyes and jumped over Natasha before the attack could hit it, then hissed as it scratched her from behind. Natasha growled in pain, then turned around, seeing Purrloin mockingly smirk at her. Alice looked at the man and glared at him.  
"Who are you? What's your name?"  
"You can just call me N," He replied. "Purrloin, Scratch."  
Purrloin advanced towards Natasha, and Alice nodded. Before she could be scratched, Natasha unleashed the water gun upon the feline-like pokemon, causing it to yowl as it was thrown back several feet. It shakily stood up, glaring at Natasha.  
"Tackle!" Alice shouted. The Oshawott growled as she ran towards Purrloin and headbutted it in its abdomen, throwing it back. It fell to the ground with a small cloud of dust, swirls in its eyes. N walked up to the pokemon, crouching down next to it, a small smile on his face.  
"Thank you," He said, tipping the bill of his cap as he picked it up. He stood up and looked at Alice, who pursed her lips. "You truly are the champion of Unova. I look forward to battling you again."  
As he turned on his heel, Alice narrowed her eyes. "Hey wait! What did you mean you wanted to hear the voice of my pokemon?"  
N stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Oh, yes. That. You see, I have the ability to talk to pokemon," He looked at Natasha. "Your Oshawott seems to be a bit wary of you, but is starting to warm up to you. Well, I'm leaving now. Ta-ta~"  
Alice watched as N walked away, and shook her head. "What a weirdo..." She said under her breath, walking to the pokemon center. Once they reached there, Alice walked up to the counter, and smiled as Nurse Joy looked up.  
"Oh, hello!" Nurse Joy greeted.  
"Hi! Can we book a room for the night?"  
"Of course. May I see your trainer ID?"  
Alice nodded and set her bags down, taking out her wallet and giving her ID to Nurse Joy. The pink haired woman took it and nodded.  
"Thank you!"  
"Also, can you please heal my pokemon?"  
Alice returned Natasha to her pokeball, handing it to Nurse Joy, who nodded. "No problem!"

* * *

Alice deeply sighed as she closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep. "This isn't cool... why am I so restless? Ugh..."  
She looked at Natasha's pokeball, which was sitting on the nightstand. Guilt suddenly washed over Alice and she groaned.  
"Come on! You're 19! You're better than this!" She screamed into her pillow, and frowned. "Am I...?"

* * *

**... Okay, we all know how hard this failed... I tried. I know it's not as long as you guys probably wanted it to be but... whatever. Um... like I said, the OC form will be on my profile, if you wanna submit one. Uh... thanks for reading!**

**-Tobu**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! So I'm finally, FINALLY here with the new chapter. I really was planning to update much earlier, but hey, I have a couple excuses. One, I only received a few OC's, and I waited a little bit to see if I would get any more, but I didn't, so I decided to only introduce one OC this chapter. Two, school has started, and while I'm not that busy, I realized how amazing I am at procrastinating. Three, I sort of dropped out of pokemon until recently, and now that I have my DS (long story) I can finally force myself back into the mood! Four, my mom has sorta been bugging me lately about a lot of stuff, let's just say I'm going through some mama drama. Also, my laptop of five years said its final goodbye after it went kerplunk, and now I can't access anything. I had this chapter planned out, but since I couldn't get to it, I couldn't finish writing it. I'm going to get a new laptop, hopefully soon, but until then, I'll be on the desktop.**

**So, some of you questioned the timeline, about how it takes place in both BW1 and BW2, in a way. Well, I'm here to explain it, which I didn't do last chapter for some unknown reason. Just think about it for a second. In BW2, we were still in Unova, with a whole new set of characters, but we already had a feeling of what we were going to experience. We had to defeat Team Plasma, become the new champion, yadda yadda. Well, that sort of what this story is taking from. We had to redo what we did already, or start from scratch. I know that's a terrible explanation but it's all I got, so bear with me, please. Anyway, sorry for this outrageously long author's note, to the chapter!**

* * *

_Accumula Town, Unova. 12:33. September 3. Natasha seems pretty proud of the fact she defeated that man's Purrloin yesterday. We're going to leave for Striaton City now. If things go well, we should get there by the fifth. _

Alice closed her journal and stuffed it in her bag, and stood up from her place on the futon in the pokemon center's lobby. She then slung the said item over her shoulder and stretched her arms over her head. Going over a mental checklist, she nodded when she confirmed she had everything she needed and made her way to the automatic doors, which opened as soon as she stepped on the large welcome mat. Alice walked out of pokemon center and shivered as she zipped up her sweater. Fall would be over soon, which was evident thanks to the weather. It was a cloudy day, the sun nothing more than a blurred circular light in the sky, so much that one could look at it directly without a problem.

Alice shivered again as a breeze picked up and stuffed her hands in her pockets, making her way down the street.

"_I hate the cold," _She bitterly thought. "_I don't like the heat either, though. Ugh…"_

She was so engulfed in her thoughts that she didn't realize she was being talked to until she heard someone shout.

"Young lady!" A stern, yet worn out voice yelled. Alice squeaked at the tone, her cheeks light pink from embarrassment. In front of her stood an elderly woman with short snow white hair and wrinkled peach skin. She was hunched over, using a cane to keep her up.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Alice quickly said, holding her hands up in defense. The elder pointed a crooked finger at her.

"You," She started. "You are…"

"My name? It's Alice Brown."

The woman closed her watery blue eyes. "Ah, yes, I remember that name. You are the champion. Our champion."

Alice pursed her lips, noticing the woman had put emphasis on the word 'our'.

"I was," She sighed. "But now I'm-"

"You are still our champion, young lady."

"I'm not! I gave up my title…!"

The woman shook her head. "Your title does not label you. It is who you are on the inside, yes? I can see that you are a selfless person. You care about others wellbeing. You truly are our champion."

Alice scoffed and rolled her eyes, continuing down the street, ignoring both the woman and her words.

"_Selfless? Champion? Give me a break! I'm neither of those things! People have always called me selfish because of my actions. And what did she mean by 'our'? As in, all of Unova? No way. I'm nothing to them anymore. Just an average person…"_

Alice deeply sighed and shook her head. "Thinking about this is giving me a headache," She said to herself. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a sign on a small piece of fenced grass that, in large white letters, said 'Route 2 Ahead'. She began walking once more, groaning as a breeze blew.

"Seriously, this is insane," She grumbled. "I understand fall is gonna be over soon, but does it really have to be so freaking cold?"

Alice pulled her hood over her head, tucking her hair behind her shoulder.

"I can't imagine how cold it is in Icirrus right now…"

* * *

_Striaton City, Unova. 6:48. September 5. I managed to get to Striaton in good condition. The food at the restaurant is magnificent, and, I was able to see a battle between Cress and a boy who looked around my age. It was his Munna against Cress' Panpour. The boy seemed to be a rookie, he kept making the same mistake of attacking with direct moves instead of trying to inflict a status problem on Panpour. If he thought it through a bit more, perhaps he would have won._

Alice adjusted her glasses and looked up, a yelp escaping her lips, causing some people in the restaurant to glance at her. What surprised her so much was the boy she was talking about in her journal sitting across from her.

"You okay?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He seemed to be taller than Alice, with a fairly average build. His hair was of an auburn red colour, reaching down his forehead, halfway to his eyes, which were light blue, and had a laid back look to them. His skin, tanned, and his outfit consisted of a red long sleeved shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbow, and the shirt itself unbuttoned. Underneath it was a grey t-shirt. He also wore black athletic pants with a white stripe running down the leg and black running shoes.

"You…" Alice growled. "Why were you looking at what I was writing?!" She shouted, though she quickly closed her mouth when she saw several people in the restaurant look at her once again.

"I wasn't looking at what you were writing!" The boy retorted. "You caught my eye. I just thought I'd go up to you and say hello!"

"Hi," Alice coldly said, closing her journal. "Go away now."

"Someone doesn't like making friends…"

"I don't _need _any friends. I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"That's what they all say. You know, my friends used to think that, but once they all went on their journey, I haven't been in contact with them since. I wonder what happened to them…"

"_I wonder why you're still talking to me," _Alice thought. She tucked her journal under her arm and stood up, the boy doing the same.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"What's your name?"

"Alice," She said as she reached into her pants pocket and took out her wallet, placing the appropriate amount of money on the table. "Alice Brown."

"I'm Adrian McGuire!" He cheerfully replied. He eyed Alice's journal and raised an eyebrow. "Are you a poet?"

Alice glared at Adrian for a few moments before she turned on her heel and walked out of the restaurant. She growled as she heard his calls to wait for him.

"Can't you answer a simple question?" He asked, running up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Alice angrily said, slapping his hand away. "And I'm not a poet! I'm an observer!"

She stormed off, Adrian a bit confused at her outburst.

"What's her problem?" He thought aloud. He sighed and slowly followed her path to the pokemon center, making sure he stayed a certain distance away from her to prevent her from getting even angrier. Meanwhile, Alice walked into the pokemon center and huffed as she leaned against a wall in the lobby. She quickly flipped open her journal to a clean page and took out a pen from her pocket, and began writing down her thoughts.

"_Striaton Center, don't care about the time. Many people are highly mistaken when they think I'm so nice and innocent. I'm really not. I'm only that way when I'm talking to those older than me, or to people anyone would act respectful to, like that store clerk while I was in Accumula. Like Natasha, I'm cold and serious. I'm not one to play around. I don't tolerate those things."_

She looked up when she heard the doors open, and pursed her lips, seeing Adrian walked through. He looked around and gave a crooked smile once he saw her. He slowly began walking towards her, stopping every two steps to make sure she wouldn't lash out.

"Listen," He started. "I think we got off at the wrong foot. I didn't mean to look at what you were writing or anything. I just wanted to say hi! So… um… hi…?"

Alice took a deep breath. "_Usually, I would ignore someone like him, but… he seems to be really sorry…"_

She slowly nodded. "Hi."

Adrian's smile became a bit more confident. "So, uh, do you write in that thing all the time?" He asked, referring to her journal.

"Yeah. Why?"

He shrugged. "Just wondering. So, where are you going after this?"

"Nacrene City."

"Seriously!? You have to let me come with you!"

Alice blinked. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do that. I'm what others tend to call a lone wolf."

"Oh please! Please, please, please!"

Adrian got on his knees and clasped his hands together, desperately pleading. Alice's eye twitched at his actions, and she deeply sighed, slapping her forehead.

"Okay, okay fine! Just shutup, okay?"

Adrian leapt to his feet, punching the air as if he were a young child. "Yes! Works every time!"

"Okay, look," Alice said as she went over to him, noticing he was a few inches taller than her. "I'll only let you join me if you don't get in my way, alright?" She asked, poking his chest with each word. Adrian grinned and nodded.

"Of course, milady."

"And you can't call me that, either. Ever."

"I can do that!"

Alice took a step back and placed her hands on her hips, examining Adrian. Without a doubt, he was the same age as year, or at least a year or two younger. So why, she wondered, why was his battling style that of an amateur?

"Lemme ask you something," The black haired woman said. "How long have you been training pokemon?"

Adrian thought for a moment. "Maybe… three or four months? More or less?"

"Months?" Alice asked in disbelief. "That's it?"

"Yeah… is that bad?"

She rubbed the back of her neck. "Not necessarily, but… I thought it'd be more like years, ya know?"

"I understand why you'd be surprised," He chuckled. "18 years old and I've only been around pokemon for a few months. But that's why I want to come with you to Nacrene! I've never actually been anywhere other than Striaton, so being exposed to new things would be a great experience for me! I'll be able to catch pokemon and meet people and…" He deeply sighed to calm himself. "I just really wanna do this!"

Alice slightly chuckled. "You have determination kid, I'll give you that."

"Kid? You can't be much older than me!"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I meant kid as in rookie."

"Oh… well, whatever. How long have you been training pokemon?"

"Hm… 7 years, I think. I've…" Alice blinked and shook her head. "Never mind, forget it."

"Um… okay… so, when are we leaving?"

"I guess the seventh," Alice thought for a moment. "Yeah, the seventh."

"Well, tomorrow, do you think you can give me some advice on how to be a good trainer?"

Alice pursed her lips. "I'm probably not the best person to ask…"

Adrian blinked. "And why is that? You've been training pokemon for years! You must be a master or something, right?"

She clenched her fists. "Don't call me that. Please."

"What? Master?"

"Yes! I hate that word!"

"W-What's wrong with-"

"Just don't call me it, okay!?"

Adrian blinked and gulped. "O-Okay…"

Alice nodded. "Look, I, uh… I should be heading back to my room…"

"O-Of course! See you tomorrow?"

She quickly made her way to Nurse Joy's desk, not bothering to look behind her.

* * *

Alice stared blankly at the lined paper, her thoughts jumbled up.

"I don't know what to write…" She said to herself, bringing her knees up to her chest. She was on the bed, Natasha lying down at the foot of it.

"_I'm going to let her out more often starting tomorrow," _She wrote. "_I think she hates me for keeping her inside her pokeball for so long. Not letting my pokemon out was something I did a lot when I first went on my journey. Well, you know what they say… old habits die hard."_

She looked at the page, which was barely a quarter full. She sighed and continued writing. "_Adrian… I'm not sure what to think of him. He isn't a bad person. Maybe he's trying to impress me. I'll give him a chance to prove himself worthy. This is the first time someone has actually tried to be friends with me. I was always a pretty harsh person, and I've never had any friends, so I don't know how to treat them. He asked me if I could give him some advice… maybe it should be the other way around…"_

Alice sighed and turned, surprised to see Natasha sitting up, glaring at her.

"Are you angry?" Alice asked, biting her lip. Natasha simply crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

"Of course," She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for keeping you in your pokeball for so long. Are you even listening?"

The Oshawott continued to ignore her, causing Alice to click her tongue.

"You're going to be difficult to deal with."

Alice lied down, turning off the lamp on the nightstand, and pulling the sheets over her.

"I've been having trouble sleeping," She said, obviously wanting Natasha to hear, although the latter simply curled into a ball and pretended to sleep. Alice caught drift of this and whimpered.

"_It is true, though. I dunno why, but sleeping has just been a huge problem for me. Maybe taking this journey was a mistake. I said I'm worried about this organization, but surely the cops will handle this, right? No... Adrian is counting on me. He really wants this, and as horrible of a person I am, I'd be sinking to a whole new low to let him down like this…" _Alice gasped and widened her eyes. "_That woman said I was a selfless person… is this what she means? I'm starting to think about turning back home, yet, I don't want to give up for Adrian's sake…" _She scoffed and shook her head "_Of course not. That lady was ridiculous. I just don't wanna seem like a coward! That's all! I am not a coward."_

* * *

**Character Introductions:**

**Adrian McGuire/Munna (Other pokemon TBA)- NightFall00**

* * *

**Heh, well, I know there were more things I could've done to make this chapter better, such as include more details about certain things, but hey, I tried. My writing skills aren't very good compared to others. I'm sorry it's not long, length has always been a problem in my writing, but hopefully I'll improve on this as time goes on. Anyway, introducing Adrian, who's a character I enjoyed writing about, even if I may have done a poor job of portraying him, and I apologize for that. Writing this chapter out was pretty easy for me, let's cross our fingers that it stays that way. I hope the confusion about the timeline is cleared up, and if not, then damn it all. Anyway, see you all next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I wanna tell you now that this one will be a bit confusing in the beginning, but make more sense afterwards. So, yeah. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Striaton City, Unova. 11:14. September 6. Adrian was the one to wake me up this morning. Don't ask me how he got into my room, or how he even knew where I was staying. He's such an odd kid._

"Are you done yet?" Adrian impatiently asked, bouncing on his heels. Alice glared at him as she closed her journal.

"Yes," She replied. The two were outside the pokemon center, on the training field, which was a large white rectangle with a pokeball symbol in the middle, dividing it in half, on a dirt terrain.

"We're gonna have a battle," She continued. "That's why I dragged you out here. I'm gonna test how well you can use your pokemon."

Adrian nodded. "Gotcha." He took out a pokeball from his pocket and enlarged it, throwing it into the air. Materializing in front of him was a red and beige monkey-like pokemon with eyes that had a lax appearance to them.

"Pansear, huh?" Alice asked herself. She looked at Natasha, the Oshawott walking onto the field in front of her and crossing her arms.

"A water type against a fire type…" Adrian said. "Gotta be careful. Jester, use Yawn!"

The Pansear, Jester, opened its mouth, a transparent bubble forming, and it floated towards Natasha.

"_Starting off with a status attack? Good…" _Alice held out her arm. "Natasha, use Water Gun to negate it!"

Natasha cocked her head back and released a stream of water from her mouth. It burst through the bubble, popping it, and continued towards Jester, hitting it in its abdomen. The fire-type pokemon growled as it was pushed back by the water gun, which left it soaking wet when the attack was over.

"_Alice obviously has long range attacks on her side, but for Jester and I, we rely on getting close to the opponent," _Adrian thought, and bit his lip. "_How can Jester land an attack on her without him getting hurt in the process? C'mon Adrian, think…"_

He gasped and snapped his fingers, a smirk coming to his face. "Jester, Flame Burst!"

Jester puffed out his cheeks and released a stream of fire from his mouth into the air. The stream morphed into a ball, and the ball exploded, sending multiple streaks of fire to the ground. Alice slightly smiled.

"Natasha, spin while using Water Gun!"

The Oshawott begun to rapidly spin around, using the water attack so it formed a whirlpool shape above her. The streaks of fire hit the whirlpool, turning to steam upon contact. Once the attack was finished, Natasha stopped spinning, wobbling over a bit. She smirked, and suddenly cried out when she felt something pop. Instantly, Natasha yawned and rubbed her eyes. Alice blinked and glared at Adrian, the latter having a goofy smile on his face.

"Hm. So you used the flame burst as a distraction so that you could use yawn," Alice said, crossing her arms over her chest. She deeply sighed. "An effective strategy, I must say. I can't believe I actually fell for it."

She looked at Natasha, who fell over on her stomach, asleep. Alice pursed her lips and took out Natasha's pokeball, returning her.

"Huh?" Adrian asked. "Aren't we going to continue the battle?"

"No. She's asleep, and because of that, she can't attack. If she can't attack, then you're going to, and it'll cause her unnecessary pain. It makes more sense if I just forfeit. You would do the same thing, wouldn't you?"

"I'd at least try! I mean, there's always a chance she'll wake up before she's fainted!"

"Adrian, have you ever heard the saying 'he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day'? Keep that in mind. It might help you later on in life."

* * *

"You're going to battle the gym? But I thought we were leaving tomorrow!"

"Change of plans. I was too impulsive. If I want to become the champion, then I have to get all the gym badges, right? But don't worry, I'm only going to check it out. It has been three years after all…"

Adrian pouted and sat back against the chair at the lunch table. "Hey, wait a minute…" He started. "What do you mean 'it's been three years'? Have you been on a journey before?"

"What?" Alice shook her head. "N-No! I…" She cleared her throat. "I used to be one of those people who roamed around the region just to look around, ya know? It's been three years since I've been in Striaton."

"Oh… okay."

"Well? What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

Alice sighed. "Do you want to be the champion, or what?"

"Oh, uh…" Adrian shrugged. "I dunno. I just wanna travel, see things, that sort of stuff. To be honest, I don't even want to be a trainer all that much. It's because of my parents why I'm on my journey. I wanted them to be proud of me. But, you know, if becoming the champion will make me the son my parents always wanted, then sure, I'll go for it!" He sighed. "Well, what's your story?"

"Eh. I thought I'd put my experience with pokemon to the test, you know? I doubt I'm off to a good start, though. Natasha hates me, I totally forgot about the fact that there's even a gym here, I fell for a totally predictable strategy…" She groaned.

"It's fine!" Adrian said. "You just need to calm down a bit!" He widely smiled. "_There's something wrong with Alice," _He thought. "_She keeps contradicting herself. When we were battling, she said my strategy was effective. If something is effective, then it's not predictable, right? She said she was impulsive when she told me we would be leaving tomorrow, yet, she says she forgot there's a gym here… she couldn't be lying when she said all that stuff, could she?"_

"Alright," Alice said as she stood up. "Let's head over to the gym."

* * *

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid the gym is closed for the time being."

"Are you kidding me? Closed? Why?"

"We've been informed that there's some suspicious activity going on at the Dreamyard. My brothers have gone to investigate, so until everything is cleared up, no one is allowed to challenge the gym."

"We weren't going to challenge anyone, Cress," Alice said as she crossed her arms. The blue haired man, Cress, simply smiled.

"That doesn't change the fact that we're closed."

"Tch. Whatever."

"I know what you're thinking. You're going to the Dreamyard, aren't you? Alice, remember, you are no longer the maître. It's best that you don't get involved with certain things."

"Look, whatever is going on there, I'm going to investigate, and you're not going to stop me."

Cress sighed. "You haven't changed one bit. Adamant as ever, Alice."

"Oh, shutup! You don't know anything about me!"

* * *

_Outskirts of the Dreamyard. Stupid Cress! He always acts that way around me! And he almost gave away my secret, right in front of Adrian! Ugh, I can't stand him!_

Adrian watched as Alice scribbled furiously in her journal. He wasn't sure whether or not to ask if she was okay. She was, after all, too unpredictable for him.

"Um… Alice…?" He began. "Back then, that guy-"

"Cress? I hate him."

"Yeah, Cress, he called you a maître, which means master in French. Did he mean the champion? Were you the Unova champion?"

Alice stopped in her tracks and shook her head. "No," She quickly said. "No, no, no. No, I wasn't."

"Then why-?"

"Adrian. There are some things that are better when they're not talked about. Okay?"

"Um… o-okay… but I have another question."

"What?"

"You said that you were too impulsive when you planned to leave tomorrow, but you also said that you forgot there was a gym. And you called my strategy effective, yet obvious. I don't get it. Why did you say one thing, and then contradict it with another?"

"I… I, uh…" Alice looked away. "I…"

"Were you lying?"

"No! No, I… it's…" She deeply sighed. "Let me ask you a question, Adrian. If you knew there was a gym here, then why did you agree to us leaving tomorrow? Didn't you say you want to become the champion?"

"I never said I want to become the champion! I mean, I'd give it a try-"

"Give it a try? You don't give becoming the champion a chance. You have to commit to it. You either want to, or you don't. There is no maybe. Being the champion is serious stuff. You have to be the one to see your pokemon fight until the very end, and trust me, it's more difficult than you think, to see them in so much pain. And when you win, you have to be the one to tell your challenger tough luck. You have to see the disappointment on their face. If you're strong enough to take on that responsibility, then you can become the champion. But if you can't handle such a burden, then you can't."

Adrian blinked and looked down. "I guess I'm not strong enough, in that case. I just want my parents to be proud. I'm tired of being scolded for being a failure. I want to do something successful, you know? But it's really difficult because, since I'm older, people would often put me down. I'm 8 years behind the normal pokemon trainer, and every time I think about how people react to my age and experience, it makes me feel a little worse about myself," He sighed. "I wouldn't be able to handle the sort of pain the champion goes through. So I guess I should just give up!"

"O-Oh, I…" Alice looked away. "I'm… sorry. I never knew you felt that way. T-There's absolutely no reason why you should give up! You know, going on a pokemon journey is an accomplishment in itself. And, this may seem pretty pointless, but if you want to feel even more successful, you can always beat all the gyms, and not fight in the pokemon league. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Adrian slowly nodded. "Yeah, I understand…" He smiled. "Thanks, Alice!"

She quickly opened her journal and began walking down the street. _Our adventure to the Dreamyard has been cut short a bit, but we'll get there soon. Adrian seems to have low self-esteem, and is probably having an internal conflict- become the champion, or don't? At least I changed the subject. My thoughts often get mixed up, and when they do, I spit out nonsense. I wasn't lying about his strategy earlier, or was I? I've seen it before, but it's still a good tactic to use. But, at the same time, it's easy to decipher what the motive to using it is. I really don't know. The more I think about things, the more confusing they become. I didn't mean to say we were leaving tomorrow, but I also didn't mean it when I said I forgot there was a gym here. I don't know what I meant. I don't know what I'm saying! Why the hell am I so confused all of a sudden? I don't get it… heh, I guess I was trying to look cool in front of him, yet I only ended up making a fool out of myself…_

Alice yelped when she tripped over a large piece of concrete, dropping her journal and falling face-first. Adrian ran over to her and knelt down next to her.

"You okay?" He asked. Alice sat up and grabbed her journal.

"Yeah…" She groaned, rubbing her head. The two looked around, noticing they were in a large clearing. On the ground were large destroyed pieces of cement, scattered around randomly. Surrounding the area was a circle of forest, the trees blowing in the wind.

"Alice, look!" Adrian said, running over to two teenagers who were sitting next to their pokemon. Alice followed him and stopped in her tracks.

"Cilan… Chili…"

They looked up at her, a worried expression on their faces.

"I'm afraid we've been defeated…" Cilan said. They heard a cry and turned to the sound. Two people, both dressed in grey medieval-like attire, were glaring upon a small pink pokemon that had flower patterns on its body.

"What're you doing to that Munna?!" Alice shouted. The two people looked at her and evilly smirked.

"Just collecting its dream mist," One of them, a woman replied. "We must have it."

"You're hurting it!"

The pokemon, Munna, slowly floated upwards, growling as its eyes glowed an ominous red. The people looked at it and chuckled.

"What are you going to do?" The second, a man, asked. Munna struggled to keep itself in the air, and ended up falling to the ground. Alice gritted her teeth. The poor pokemon was covered in dirt and bruises, it twitched in pain and its breathing was heavy.

"Adrian," She said, anger boiling inside of her. "We have to protect that Munna. We can't let those two hurt it anymore."

"I hear ya," Adrian replied, taking out a pokeball. "Igneous, help me out!"

The pokeball snapped open, a medium-sized pokemon materializing in front of them. It seemed to be made of rocks, with deep yellow eyes and a large protrusion coming between them- Boldore.

"Igneous, Rock Blast!"

The red gems sticking out of Igneous' body glowed a bright orange colour, and its protrusion glowed silver. It grunted as it fired three silver waves of energy shaped likes its protrusion at the two people. They covered their head with their arms as the energy waves hit them, throwing them back against a wall of upturned concrete. Alice ran over to the Munna, gently picking it up and cradling it in her arms. It weakly whimpered, and looked up at Alice, widening its eyes. The spectacled woman turned around and widened her eyes, seeing the male of the duo standing behind her, a murderous glint in his eyes.

"You're going to regret that."

"Regret what?"

He stiffened up and whipped around, and Alice stood up, taking a couple of steps back. The man deeply bowed at his waist as another man walked up to him, with wild green hair and an elaborate robe.

"_That's the guy who gave that speech in Accumula…_" Alice thought, holding Munna close to her. Adrian returned Igneous and ran over to Alice, grabbing her arm.

"Let's bail," He whispered.

"Wait."

"Lord Ghetsis!" The knight dressed man scrambled to say. "W-What're you doing here?"

"That doesn't matter," The individual, Ghetsis, replied. "What matters if that you've failed me. Both you and your incompetent partner," He motioned to the woman, who was unconscious. "Because your mission was unsuccessful, you must now suffer my wrath."

The man widened his eyes and gulped. "I-I better get out of here…!" He said as he ran in the other direction, almost tripping over a piece of concrete. Within in the blink of an eye, Ghetsis was gone, instead replaced with a larger purple, its head pink and the read of its body purple. Alice looked down at Munna, who floated out of her arms and to the pokemon.

"That's Musharna," Adrian said. "The evolved form of Munna. I've seen it before. Sometimes I'd nap here and it would appear in my dreams.

"Seriously?" Alice asked as she watched the two nuzzle each other lovingly. Musharna turned to the unconscious woman and its eyes glowed blue. The woman was outlined in the same colour and she lightly groaned as she was lifted into the air.

"Hey, wait!" Alice called out. "What're you doing to her?"

"Sharna…" The pokemon replied in a monotone voice.

"Natasha, Water Gun!" Alice commanded as she threw the pokeball, Natasha coming out and unleashing it attack. The stream of water hit Musharna's side, throwing it out of focus. The woman fell to the ground, and the psychic pokemon turned to her.

"Don't hurt her!" Alice said. "She was just doing her job!"

"Whose side are even on?" Adrian asked. The black haired woman glared at him.

"I'm not on anyone's side. I understand Musharna's anger, but that isn't a reason why it should hurt her. If anything, when she wakes up, we can question her motives."

Adrian nodded. "Alright…"

Musharna looked at Alice for a few moments before it nodded and floated away, Munna following it.

Alice sighed. "Let's take her to the pokemon center."

* * *

_Striaton City Center, Unova. 2:28. September 6. The police are interrogating the woman while she recovers, and Chili and Cilan went back to the gym after having their pokemon healed. Adrian told me that Musharna most likely made an illusion of Ghetsis to scare away the man and protect Munna. It reminded me of my days of the champion. Challengers come to me, with the thought that they're the most powerful people in the whole region… and then we battle…_

"Are you okay?"

Alice looked up, seeing Adrian hold two cans in his hand. He held out one, and Alice took it.

"I'm okay," She replied, closing her journal. "Just thinking about something."

She opened the can and sipped it. "How did you know I like canned coffee?"

"I didn't," Adrian replied, giving a cheeky grin. "But I do now, so points for me!"

"Another two points for helping me back there," Alice said, her cheeks turning a light pink.

"Helping you?"

"Using your Boldore to protect me. I reacted way too slow, so you really saved my butt back there. Maybe you're not so useless after all."

Adrian blinked and slowly nodded. "Uh… y-you're welcome…" He said, opening his own can. Alice quickly looked away, clenching her fists.

"_Crap, I made it awkward! How can I change the subject…?"_

"Alice, have you ever been in love?"

She turned to Adrian, and blinked as he looked at her.

"What kind of question is that?"

"I dunno! It's just… people tend to call me a charmer since I flirt with girls I consider pretty, but it's not that I like them or anything. I just think they're a little attractive. So, have you been in love?"

"My past is something I refuse to talk about," Alice quietly said as she took another sip of the canned liquid. "But if you really want to know, I have been in love before, but with the wrong guy. I didn't realize how big of a mistake I made until…" She deeply sighed. "Nothing. Nevermind."

"Oh…" Adrian fiddled with the can.

"Why ask?"

"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"No. Just because someone looks nice doesn't mean that they are. You can have a beautiful girl, long blonde hair, model body, shining blue eyes, and she ends up being the worst person imaginable. Or, you can have a girl with messy hair, glasses, a little chubby, and she's the sweetest, kindest person. It's not fair because you're judging a book by its cover. Then, when they hurt you in the end, you end up blaming others when it's actually your fault for falling for them. You don't give them a chance to prove themselves…" She sighed. "You're very curious today, aren't you?"

"U-Um…" Adrian's eyes focused to the floor. "W-What if a girl is beautiful _and _nice at the same time?"

Alice shrugged. "Then you're damn lucky. From my experiences, a lot of the prettier girls out there are the worst."

"Do you think you're a bad person?"

"If… I'm a bad person? Yeah… I am. I'm selfish, bossy, rude, egotistic, and obnoxious. I don't care about others well-being. It always has to be about me."

"No… I think you're just coping."

"Coping? With what?"

Adrian shrugged. "Maybe you've been hurt a lot. I'm not sure. Maybe you act like you need attention because you haven't gotten any when you were younger. I've met a person like you before. They're not a bad person by heart, they're just a little troubled. They can actually be really sweet and caring if you treat them right."

"I-I suppose… I understand what you're saying."

Alice opened her journal and clicked her pen, writing underneath her previous entry. "_Is this Adrian's way of flirting? Giving compliments? Well, I don't care. His words are actually making me feel good about myself! He's the first person to have shown kindness to me, and accepted me for who I am. I don't have to act fake around him. I can be as rude as I want, and he tolerates it…"_

Alice glanced at Adrian, who sipped his drink. She looked back at her journal, feeling her cheeks heat up. "_There's no need for me to act so harsh around him. He treats me like an actual friend. He's considerate and he doesn't make me uncomfortable…"_

She suddenly stopped writing, realizing that almost half of the page was about Adrian. She squeaked and quickly closed her journal, stuffing it in her bag and zipping it closed.

"S-So, plans for tomorrow!" She quickly said. "Um… I should probably get new pokemon. I can't win the gym badge with only Natasha…"

"Would you like to borrow my pokemon?" Adrian asked.

"What? I can't do that!"

"I don't mind if you do! You can, if you want to!"

"No," Alice shook her head. "I'm not doing that."

"O-Okay…"

"Thanks for the offer though!" Alice smiled. "I appreciate it."

Adrian widely grinned. "Anytime!"

An awkward air wafted around, and both of them tried to think of something else to talk about, but ultimately failed.

"S-So…" Adrian finally started. "Are you excited…?"

Alice blinked and blushed a dark red. "E-Excuse me?!"

"W-What? I-I mean for the gym challenge! A-Are you excited for the gym challenge?" He quickly defended, red starting to spread on his own cheeks.

"O-Oh… um… I-I'm not sure…"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I guess… I'm a little nervous. Cress is a powerful gym leader. Sometimes I'd spar with him, and I'd only be able to defeat him only a couple of times."

Adrian smiled and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to be nervous. It's a natural feeling! You just gotta push through and believe in yourself!"

Alice blinked. "P-Pervert!"

"Huh?! I'm not a pervert! I'm serious!"

She looked away. "W-Whatever…"

"I'm sorry… I made it awkward again…"

"No. I'm overreacting a little bit. Don't worry about it."

"A… Alright…"

* * *

_Striaton City Center. 8:38. September 6. Why can't I stop thinking about him?! Why am I always blushing around him?! This is ridiculous! We've only known each other for a couple of days! Liking him would be impossible! And, it can't be love at first sight. Impossible…"_

Alice stopped writing when she heard a knock on the door. She sighed and climbed out of her bed, walking over to the door and opening it, a blush creeping onto her cheeks when she saw Adrian, wearing his t-shirt and athletic pants.

"I-I didn't bother you, did I?" He asked, peering inside the room.

"No… why?"

"I-I just wanted to say good night!"

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Well, this is new."

"S-Sorry…" Adrian lightly blushed. "It's just, you seemed a little upset when you went to bed, so I thought saying good night would make you feel a little better!"

Alice's heart began to race. "O-Okay… thanks… good night…"

Before she could close the door, she heard his voice once more. "Um… Alice?"

"Hm?"

Adrian held his arms behind his back. "I-I really hope we can continue this friendship… because I really do enjoy being friends with you!"

"O-Oh… um… s-same…"

He smiled. "Sweet dreams."

Alice didn't bother wait for him to walk away, she quickly slammed the door, her bangs shadowing her eyes, her face completely red.

"I-Idiot… why are you being so nice to me?" She asked herself. "Why don't you hate me…?"

She raced over to her bed, sat on her knees, and grabbed her journal and pen. "_Is this gratitude? Or is it actual love? I hate when this happens. I never thought I'd fall in love again. I promised myself I wouldn't. This didn't happen last time! So why is it happening now? I don't know what to do… m-maybe I should act natural. If I'm mean to him, then maybe he'll stop being nice! But… I can't do that… if I hurt his feelings, I can't bear to see that sight…_

Alice groaned and threw her journal to the floor. "I hate this…"

Meanwhile, in his own room, Adrian deeply sighed and stared at the ceiling.

"_Alice is very pretty," _He thought. "_And I do really like her. I wonder if she likes me back. I don't want to rush things. She should take things at her own pace. If something happens, it happens."_

He smiled and yawned. "_And if our friendship turns into something more, then that'd be even better."_

* * *

**I may or may not ship these two so hard it should be illegal. I actually forgot this was only the third chapter, so I had to keep their relationship sorta… moderate… whatever. But anyway, I finally updated, ironic on the same day as one of my favourite stories *wink wink* I need to stop doing that. Sorry for the length again, but like I said, length has always been a problem in my writing, and as you can see, I tried, in a terrible attempt, to drag out this chapter as much as I could. Oh well… I tried!**

**Anyway, jokes aside, for those of you familiar with my story F.I.N, I'm deciding to redo it. I'm gonna use a whole new cast of characters and ask for OC's. I'm not sure when I'll post the revision, but I know I'm gonna do it. Anyway, thanks for reading, and see you next chapter!**


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